Ice-retaining insert for glasses



Oct. 15, 1940. HAPMA 2,217,833

ICE-RETAINING INSERT FOR GLASSES Filed April 18, 1939 ATTORN EY PatentedOct. 15, 1940 ICE-RETAINING INSERT FOR GLASSES Frederick BurnhamChapman, Greenwich, Conn.

- Application April 18, 1939, .SeriaI'No. 268,509

2 Claims. 7 ((1210-1635) The present invention relates to inserts orguards for glasses and, more particularly, to an ice-retaining guardadapted to be inserted into drinking glasses for retaining ice, fruit,and similar additions.-

'As those skilled'in the art know, heretofore difficulty was causedbyice,-fruit, and the like added to mixed drinks, cocktails and similardrinks, for cooling and flavoring the same. This 0 difficulty wasparticularly accentuated when ice cubes of small size or crushed ice wasused, as the particles of ice would get' into the mouth and wouldcause=inconvenience and annoyance. It was already s'uggestedjto insertguards or strainers into drinking-glasses. Theseconventional guards orstrainers were generally constituted of a flat plate of foraminouscharacter which was combined with some resilient member, such-as acoiled spring, capable of conforming to the inner walls of the drinkingglass and of retaining the guard or strainer therein. These conventionalguards had the disadvantage of being relatively expensivej cumbersome,and difiicult t clean. It was also suggested" to provide a guardconstituted of a split ringformed of a crimped or corrugated strip ofresilient sheet material. This ring was of such size that, bycompressing or squeezing it together, it could be readily placed withina glassor the like, and when released would expand into close contactwith the inner surface thereof. This type of guard had the disadvantagethat it was insecurely retained within the glass unless the glass was ofa special character and was provided with an annular enlargement withinwhich the guard could securely rest. Although various other suggestionsand proposals were made to solve the outstanding problem and to providethe art with a simple and satisfactory guard or insert for retainingicein drinking glasses, none, as far as I am aware, of these priorsuggestions and proposals was completely satisfactory or successful inpractical operation.

I have discovered an extremely simple and completely satisfactorysolution of the outstanding problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a guard or insertfor drinking glasses which eliminates the disadvantages andinconveniences of prior devices.

It is another object of the invention to provide aninsertfor drinkingglasses which is securely retainedwithin the glass regardless of the- 5type or shape of such glass.

I can readily adapt itself to glasses of various di 1. videa guard orinsert for glasses having glassengaging elements associatedtherewithwhereby it can engage the top edge portions of the'glass. The inventionalso contemplates a guard 'or 1 insert for glasses constituted of acoiled spring of annular form associated with retaining ele-- mentswhich is simple in construction,easy' to clean and which may bemanufactured and sold at a very lowp-rice. Other and further objects ofthe invention will become apparent fromthe followin description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing in which- 1 Fig." .1illustrates .a perspective view ofxthe guard embodying the principles ofthe invention, 1 5 in its'operative position within a drinking glass; I'.Fig. 2 depicts a fragmentary view, having parts in section, showing aportion of theguard and indicating the 'way it is mounted on the edge ofa glass/ Broadly stated, according to the principles of I the invention,I provide a guard or insert in the form of a coiled spring constitutedof a suitable material having strength and resiliency and capable ofresisting the corrosive "influence of liquids. It is essential that thematerial of the spring should be of such character as to avoid impartingan unpleasant or metallic tastelto: the. drinks. I have found thatstainless steel, nickel, Monel metal, and similar metals provide goodresults; I prefer-to arrange this coiled spring in an'annular form andto give such dimensions thereto that it will readily conform with somepressure to'the inner walls of the glass within which itis to beinserted. Of course, due' to the yielding and resilient character of thespringit' mensions and shape. I also provide suitable re tainingelements in combination with the coiled spring, said retaining elementspreferably being in the form of a'clamp or hook which can engage the topedge of the glass. In order to avoid scratching or chipping of thinglasses and to assure positive retaining of the clamping member, it isadvisableto provide a' suitable cushioning layer, such as a coating ofrubber, on such member. This rubber coating may be provided in variousways, in the simplest case a rubber tube of appropriate dimensions beingpulled over the hook, or clamping member. In some cases, it is ofadvantage to provide some means of identification on the inserts, suchas a symbol, a distinctive color, and the like, applied to some portionof the guard whereby a number of different guards may be readilydistinguished from 5 each other. This has the advantage that the guardmay serve as a means of identification for the purpose of telling theglass used by one person on a certain occasion from those used by otherpersons.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, a preferred embodimentof the invention is illustrated. Essentially, a coiled spring I isprovided, bent to an annular form and having its two ends connected toeach other. A plurality of retaining .elements in the form of clamps orhooks 2 are provided, in the present case three,

having their lower ends attached to the spring by folding around it,soldering, spot welding, or by" a similar operation. The outer portion"of clamp 2 is of a hook-shaped character adapted to he slipped over theedge of glass 3 and having sufficient resiliency for pressing againstthe walls thereof. As it will be best observed from Fig. 2,.

a small piece of rubber tube 4 is slipped over the glass-engagingportion :of clamps 2 to provide ara'soft and yielding surface therefor.The application of this tube has the advantage that damaging -orchipping of the glass is prevented and at the same time the increasedfriction provided thereby will securely retain the coiled spring withinthe glass. :.=i From the preceding description, the operation of nu!novel insert or guard will be readily under- -st'ood by those skilled inthe art. Generally speaking, the guardis inserted either before orpreferably after. the drink has been poured into the glass and icecubes, fruit, such as cherries, olives, and similar cooling andflavoring agents, have been added. Insertion of the guard is effectedsimplybyinserting coiled spring I within the glass and slippingretaining elements, or hooks 2 over the edge of the glass. Hereafter,the friction and the pressure of the retaining elements or clampsagainst the walls of the glass will securely retain the guard within theglass so that accidental displacements thereof are positively prevented.Thisresult is-"further improved by the resiliency of the coiled springitself which will press against the inner walls ;of the glass.Althoughmy. insert or guard extends only'to a portion of the. innerwidth of the glass, this is sukflicient to retain ice cubes 5, fruit 6,and similar additions from reaching the mouth of the drinker'fandat thesame time provides a rela-' tively large open portion in the centerof-the drinking glass for the subsequent addition of ice cubes, and thelike. After the drink has been consumed, the guard can be readilyremoved from the glass and may be cleaned. In view of the extremelysimple construction of my insert, it

can be very easily cleaned, simple rinsing with water being sufficientin most cases. The insert embodying the invention has the additionaladvantage that the intermediate portion of a spoon or of a straw may beinserted between two adjoining windings of the helical spring wherebythey are secured against accidental displacements in the tilted positionof the glass. This advantage is of especial value in soda fountainpractice. a

. Although the present invention has been described in connection with apreferred embodiment thereof, variations and modifications maybe'resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from theprinciples of the present invention. I consider all of these variationsand modifications as within the true spirit and scope of thepresentinvention as disclosed in the foregoing description and defined by theappended claims.

*Iclaim: V

1; a new article of. manufacture, an :iceretaining insert for drinkingglasses comprising in combination a helically wound spring forming aresilient member of circular shape adapted to be inserted into. adrinking'glass and to resiliently conform to the inner Walls thereof,and a plurality of hooks secured to said spring and adapted to beslipped over the-top edge of a drinking glass to hold said resilientmember within said glass, said resilient member being of such dimensionsa's'to securely retain ice from the edge of said glass in the tiltedposition of said glass and leaving an opening in thecenter portion ofsaid glass sufficient for'the introduction of ice, fruit, and

the like. l

2. As a new article of manufacture, an iceretaining insert ior drinkingglasses, comprising in combination a helically Wound spring'constitutedof a corrosion resistant wire having its ends connected to eachother toform a resilient member of circular shape adapted to be inserted into adrinking glassand to resiliently conform to the inner walls thereof, aplurality of hooks secured to said spring and adapted to be slipped overthe top edge of a drinking glass to hold said resilient member withinsaid glass, and a rubber tube on each of said hooks for increasingfriction between said hook andsaid glass and to prevent chipping of saidglass, said'resilient member being of such dimensions as to securelyretain ice ,from the edge of said glass in the tilted position of saidglass and leaving an opening in the center portion of said glasssufiicient for the introduction of ice, fruit and the like.

- FREDERICK BURNHAM CHAPMAN.

